The Meowmorphosis
Franz Kafka and Colerigde Cook

Thus begins The Meowmorphosis - a bold, startling, and fuzzy-wuzzy new edition of Franz Kafka's classic nightmare tale, from the publishers of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies! Meet Gregor Samsa, a humble young man who works as a fabric salesman to support his parents and sister. His life goes strangely awry when he wakes up late for work and finds out that, inexplicably, he is now a man sized baby kitten. His family freaks out: Yes, their son is OMG so cute, but what good is cute when there are bills piling up? And how can he expect them to serve him meals every day? If Gregor is to survive this bizarre, bewhiskered ordeal, he'll have to achieve what he never could before - escape from his parents' house. Complete with haunting illustrations and a provocative background expose of Kafka's own secret feline life, The Meowmorphosis will take you on a journey deep into the tortured soul of the domestic kitty.

First and foremost, if you have not read Kafka's The Metamorphosis, you must do so before reading this novel, otherwise you will lose a lot of references and meaning. This is for someone who has read the original, and now wants to read a different take on the story. Instead of turning into a cockroach, in this version, Gregor Samsa turns into a giant kitten.

At first, his sister thinks he is adorable and wants to play with him and pet him, much to Gregor's chagrin. His mother and father don't really want anything to do with him. Not liking the cooped up life, Gregor leaves his home in search of other cats.

On his journey, he meets a few other cats who also used to be men. But his behavior has put him on trial in front of the cat court and after being found guilty he slinks on back to his home.

There he is not greeted well and his father attempts to kill him. He is shut away in his small room which now also houses dust, dirt, and random pieces of furniture not in use in other parts of the house. No one seems interested in feeding him, cleaning him, or taking care of him in any way. No one wants anything to do with him and finally, his sister attempts to convince the rest of the family that he must go.

While fuzzy on the outside (pun intended), this novel also delves into much darker subjects as does the original and the ending is one you would expect from a Kafka book. The only thing turned fuzzy is Gregor, not the story.

I highly recommend this novel, but only if you have read the original.

My rating: Five out of five snails.